More than 5 billion travelers passed through the airports of the world in 2011, according to Airports Council International. That’s an incredible number, considering the population of the entire planet is something like 7 billion.

To reconnect with irritated and discombobulated travelers, airports around the world are reinventing themselves as relaxing destinations--complete with pools, golf courses, and movie theaters--rather than just the awful place where they search your bags before you get on a plane.

Airport owners and developers around the globe are reinventing the airport as a place that people actually want to spend time. That includes the “forevermore” kind of time.

About Travel Retail, Duty Free, International Tourism & Passenger Shopping Behavior, new technology, etc. A selection of interesting news, brought to you by JMG-Research (More about us here: http://www.JMG-Research.com)...

Our latest ForwardKeys analysis reveals that Chinese outbound travel bookings to Europe are -7.7% down over the period from mid-November 2015 to mid-October 2016. However, the picture is decidedly mixed. Countries, which ForwardKeys describes as the ‘Croissant Countries’ are very substantially down whereas other parts of Europe are substantially up.

The terror attacks in France have frightened off visitors from China. As many Chinese tour itineraries include the neighbouring countries – Benelux, Germany and Italy – they too have lost Chinese visitors. The geographic area can be described by putting a croissant over the map of Europe which is why we are calling them the 'Croissant Countries'.

Analysis of future bookings to France from the Asia Pacific region reveals that in the period through to the end of 2016, bookings are currently running -21% behind where they were at the equivalent moment last year. As would be expected, bookings are also running behind for the other croissant countries.

Britain’s airports face scrutiny about how they sell alcohol, and may be obliged to seal duty-free bags, as the Government seeks to reduce incidents of drink-fuelled air rage. The new aviation minister, Lord Ahmad, has announced he will examine the way alcohol is sold at airports amid a spate of incidents on planes involving drunk passengers.

With just one month to go before the Olympic Games open, flight bookings to Rio are booming, according to ForwardKeys, which monitors future travel patterns by analyzing 14 million reservation transactions each day.

The peak arrival date for Olympic fans is 4 August, the day before the opening ceremony, but a significant number will start to arrive earlier, from 27 July.

When compared with the same dates last year, forward flight bookings are ahead 148% between 27 July to the Olympic closing day on 21 August. Flight bookings for the Paralympics, which run from 1-18 September, are also strong, up 23%.

Forward bookings show 24% of travellers are staying for 9-13 nights and 23% for 6-8 nights, between 27 July and 18 September. For those visitors staying 22 or more nights, 70% will arrive before 2 August, to soak up the full Olympic experience.

Anticipate future arrivals (and departures) thanks to ForwardKeys: We will help you to identify future Airport travellers (Outbound/Inbound; Direct flight or Transit; Etc.) by nationality and PAX profile.

The bomb attacks in Brussels have severely affected flight bookings to the Belgium capital. In the days following the attacks on 22 March, net bookings – new bookings minus cancellations - fell by 136% when compared with last year.

Short Term Travellers and Groups Most Affected.

Cancellations Are Affecting Arrivals up to the Summer.

Mid and Long Haul Source Markets Are Showing More Resilience, as China sees resilient group bookings from secondary cities for arrivals in July and August.

Brussels Attacks also Impacted Key European Destinations, as overall Europe performance is shifting from -1% to -5% after the attacks. Amsterdam, Madrid and Barcelona still showing positive numbers.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

While Brussels was the most impacted location, most European key cities are also suffering. BRU reopening will allow the situation to improve slowly.

Our industry has a desperate need for Worldwide, real-time information about how, when and where the passengers are travelling, understanding when they book their trips, when they travel, isolating all various steps from the initial domestic flight to the international legs, including transits. Another aspect is to be able to anticipate future flow based to registered bookings.

Thanks to this new development, ForwardKeys and JMG-Research will meet this need.

Contact us for more...

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

Profiling the right PAX at the the right place at the right time!

By compiling the most comprehensive database of air reservation information from all around the world on a daily basis (with some exclusive agreements like in China), we can now not only tap into the historical data to understand trends and seasonality, but more interestingly look at future data, i.e. on the books reservations of travellers to any destinations in the world, focusing on either nationality, airport, country or region.

According to the latest data from ForwardKeys, flight bookings to the affected areas as a whole have fallen by -3.4% since 15 January compared to the figures for the previous year, and by -10% in early February after the WHO’s announcement. Areas affected by the virus are Central and Latin America - with Brazil being hardest hit - and the Caribbean.

ForwardKeys analysis shows that tourist destinations such as Guadeloupe (-21%), Martinique (-24%), Puerto Rico (--22%) and the US Virgin Islands (-27%), have been hardest hit and long-haul origin markets most affected.

Looking ahead, to the months up to May, the data shows a more optimistic picture, with some destinations, notably Brazil (+25%), Colombia (+29%) and Guyana (+40%), showing encouraging signs with forward bookings running well ahead of the same time last year, most likely as a consequence of the airlines Iberia, LAN and VivaColombia all substantially increasing route capacity.

Click on the image to read our memo.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

We are bringing together with ForwardKeys a new perspective to the Retail and the Travel Retail players, providing the Industry with live information on international passenger traffic by nationality and the opportunity to anticipate future PAX flows, analysing registered bookings made all over the World.

International tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% in 2015 to reach a total of 1,184 million in 2015, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.

Some 50 million more tourists (overnight visitors) travelled to international destinations around the world last year as compared to 2014.

2015 marks the 6th consecutive year of above-average growth, with international arrivals increasing by 4% or more every year since the post-crisis year of 2010.

UNWTO projects international tourist arrivals to grow by 4% worldwide in 2016.

By region, growth is expected to be stronger in Asia and the Pacific (+4% to +5%) and the Americas (+4% to +5%), followed by Europe (+3.5% to +4.5%). The projections for Africa (+2% to 5%) and the Middle East (+2% to +5%) are positive, though with a larger degree of uncertainty and volatility.

A few leading source markets have driven tourism expenditure in 2015 supported by a strong currency and economy:

- Among the world’s top source markets, China, with double-digit growth in expenditure every year since 2004, continues to lead global outbound travel, benefiting Asian destinations such as Japan and Thailand, as well as the United States and various European destinations.

- By contrast, expenditure from the previously very dynamic source markets of the Russian Federation and Brazil declined significantly, reflecting the economic constraints in both countries and the depreciation of the rouble and the real against virtually all other currencies.

A growing number of wealthy shoppers prefer to shell out for unique, hard-to-find pieces instead of highly recognizable handbags from big-name brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada.

The shift is largely about adapting to a moment in high-end fashion when personal taste and individuality — not conformity — are the ultimate badges of cool. But experts say the penchant for more discreet luxury goods is also partly being fueled by the simmering political debate about income inequality, which is leaving some big spenders worried that it is tacky to carry a purse that practically announces its four-figure price tag.

High-end consumers are also increasingly diverting their dollars to experiences, such as a lavish island vacation or an extravagant dinner at Michelin-star restaurant, rather than on goods.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

Something we already highlighted in our 2013 Chinese PAX research, specially for the "Aristocratic Shoppers' as we define in our Shopper Typology...

In Milan, at Loreto metro station, the first 200 meter long visual space has arrived in Italy with over 1,000 products of the best mass distribution brands, which can be ordered simply by scanning the products with a mobile phone, thanks to Carrefour Italia.

After the positive results of the trial phase, Carrefour Italia, in collaboration with Risparmio Super, has launched www.cliccaeritira.it the first online shopping service via the web or mobile, making it possible to go shopping online at any time and plan a collection from the store or home delivery.

The creation of a display space like that of Loreto is a means of communicating to the customer that digital is breaking through traditional shopping patterns and even the most physical of spaces, like the sales outlet, can be dematerialized while guaranteeing the same level of service.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

After Asia with Seoul, now Europe. Convenience shopping right at your platform!

174 million Chinese tourists are tipped to spend $264 billion by 2019 compared with the 109 million who spent $164 billion in 2014, according to a new analysis by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. To put that in perspective, there were just 10 million Chinese outbound tourists in 2000.

Millennials, or 25- to 34- year olds, are expected to make up the bulk of Chinese tourists at 35% of the total, followed by 15- to 24- year olds accounting for around 27%.

Only about 5% of China's 1.3 billion populace are thought to hold passports, meaning the potential for outbound tourism is vast.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

Interesting to see how Airlines, Airports, Duty Free Shops & Brands are handling this new wave of passengers, with different behaviours and expectations as seen in our research...

The China National Tourism Administration has predicted that the number of Chinese heading abroad during the holiday break will reach 5.19 million, a 10 percent year-on-year increase, driven by a stronger Yuan, favourable visa policies, increased wealth and demand for quality leisure time.

Spring Festival this year also marked the first time that outbound tourists had outnumbered those travelling at home, with 60 percent of Chinese tourists spending the holiday in foreign destinations.

Falling sales of luxury European brands in China due to the anti-corruption campaign contrasts with the lavish spending by Chinese tourists abroad. These tourists now account for 40 percent of luxury goods sales in France, 35 percent of such sales in Italy and 25 percent of luxury sales in Britain.

In Paris, 80 percent of Chinese tourists' spending was devoted to shopping.

Paolo de Cesare, chief executive officer of Parisian luxury department store Printemps, said: "In the 1970s, we had shoppers from the United States. In the '80s and '90s we had Japanese and in the early 2000s we had Russians. But for the past six or seven years, Chinese have been the main tourists shopping at Printemps". Forty percent of the company's sales comes from overseas visitors, who account for only 20 percent of its customers. Chinese customers make up 50 percent of those from overseas.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

New Year... New record of Chinese travellers! And 10 M opportunities to enter Duty Free Shops, when leaving and when returning...

I will confess that I do have a personal preference when it comes to my seat selection (and that includes a resounding "no" for that middle seat! It's my choice all right - last choice!). My choices are usually aligned with the length of the flight but have noted that when I was travelling more regularly for business, the luggage was lighter and the need to get out faster was stronger and drove my seat selection. Now that I am travelling mostly for myself, I actively like to push aside the mentality of passengers that have to stand up to depart almost as soon as the plane wheels have touched the ground. Does keeping your seatbelt on just a minute more really restrict your freedom? Really....that extra 2 minutes really isn't going to have that much of an impact on the value of my day and is why I often times now choose a window seat when I'm an aisle kind of girl.

With fliers no longer always required to turn off phones and tablets during takeoff and landing, they’re glued to electronic devices for longer than ever, leaving little downtime for leafing through a magazine.

Whatever the format, the magazines are a way to connect with passengers and build an airline’s brand -- and the advertising revenue helps, too.

The challenge is to make the publications attractive and entertaining enough that passengers will actually open them.

Chinese shoppers have long enjoyed sleeping in IKEA’s stores. So the Swedish furniture giant is giving them a new place to rest their heads: Terminal Three, Beijing International Airport.

IKEA launched a sleeping zone with two bedrooms, two living rooms and a children’s room in the Chinese capital’s main airport, enabling weary travelers to catch a few z’s between connections or while waiting out one of the country’s infamous flight delays.

The Shazam mobile app will bring shoppers and advertisers even closer together at ground zero for the retail experience, the shopping mall, via digital signage.

The music-recognition app and Adspace Networks Inc. announced a partnership to bring Shazamable advertisements to more than 200 shopping malls in the US. The partnership will enable Adspace Networks to enhance video campaigns with a fully customizable second-screen content experience through the Shazam app, changing the way users interact with the retail environment,

Shoppers will now be able to Shazam advertisements for more information and engagement, allowing for exclusive offers and added content. Shazam's ultrasonic watermark technology will be available on both the network's floor-mounted and aerial screens, within a range of up to 40 feet.

The inaudible-to-human-ears Shazam ultrasonic signal is active whether a commercial is airing or not, so the mobile experience is always available to a mall shopper.

For retailers, a coupon can be delivered immediately. Shazam can even execute purchases.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

Shazam the way you speak with the shoppers! Should be interesting for operators & brands to try that in airports (but free WiFi needed to be really effective).

This is a great way to bridge the gap between advertisement and buying behavior. In terms of music in advertisements, consumers would be able to Shazam the ad, find out more about the product, but also learn about the artist featured in the ad. They may download the song and keep listening to it, simultaneously building brand equity for the product.

Another way that Music and Branding are coming together is through new breakthroughs like the Shazam mobile app using it's music capabilities to interact with everyday shopping. who would of ever thought?

Created in 1954, the Comité Colbert is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2014.

For this occasion, its members—78 firms from the French luxury sector and 14 cultural institutions, which have joined together through common values—wanted to follow the paths taken by their visionary creators with an incursion into 2074.

Confident in the power of the imagination to model reality, the Comité Colbert has chosen to dream 2074. Thus, throughout 2013, it conducted The Utopia Factory through which each firm first expressed its dream in the form of a short text, an image and five words.

This material, both rich and inventive, was then shaped through ten workshops giving rise to a collective utopia incarnating the overall vision of French luxury.

For example, in sophisticated luxury markets like Shanghai or Beijing, consumers have been exploring commonly known and lesser known brands over the past 5-6 years. However, this will not be the case in some entry level luxury markets like Xi'an.

This infographic made by Smithstreet China is illustrating Chinese fashionistas' favorite luxury brands in different cities in China, based on interview results of 300 luxury consumers throughout China .

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

Interesting to see a kinda "First-in First-out" pattern, from one market to another...

Of the nation’s 30 busiest airports, 12 offer all-free Internet, up from nine in 2007, according to Boingo Wireless, a leading provider of airport wireless services. A dozen others opt for a tiered plan, with some free access. The shift is also playing out at smaller locations, where the financial and operational challenges are less daunting.

The roll call of free arrangements — entirely at some airports, in combination with premium-paid levels at others — is growing, both domestically and abroad. As airlines tack on fees for ever-fading courtesies, from checked baggage to advance seat selection, airports are headed in the opposite philosophical direction when it comes to Wi-Fi.

For much of society, free Wi-Fi has evolved into a something of a right, and the trend at airports is to treat it as an amenity no different from water fountains, trams and Muzak.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

A new basic need among passengers... and a possible access to location-based services and information, when retailers will wake-up...

From April 1 to June 30, 2014, UnionPay cardholders, when shopping in Duty Free shops with their card in UnionPay partner airports, will be provided with an extended discount of 5-10%, in addition to the standard waive of the currency conversion fee equivalent to 1-2% of the total transaction value.

The airports selected to participate are those with the highest international passenger flows, such as Hong Kong International Airport, Seoul Incheon Airport and Singapore Changi Airport. The program will also cover popular tourist destinations including Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

While offering discount offers and other preferential services to their customers, the retail duty free shops will also be committed to raising the quality of their services, improving POS system functionality, and making more UnionPay information readily available in-store to UnionPay cardholders in order to meet their varying needs.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

Offering Chinese PAX a better shopping experience and a better price... What else?

The average Chinese traveler spent 48,000 yuan ($8,000) in France last year, up nearly 11% from 2012. That compares with a 3% overall decline in Chinese tourists’ per-capita spending. Driving that increase is a Chinese love of luxury. The average tourist spent 23,800 yuan ($3,923) in French stores last year—a 20% increase on 2012.

The nearly $4,000 Chinese tourists are dropping in French stores is 45% more than in the UK.

Brands such as LV have become almost too ubiquitous, meaning that shoppers, especially those heading overseas and looking to make a prestige purchase, are opting for alternatives.

Jerome Goldberg (JMG-Research / ForwardKeys)'s insight:

Good to know for the French retailers, both downtown and at the airport, when you also know that Chinese were the 5th nationality for Paris/Ile-de-France visitors in 2013, after Brits, Americans, Germans and Italians. They are now the first Asian group with 881,000 hotel nights (+52.6%), before the Japanese...

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